As the U.S. moves toward implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), the communications, navigation and surveillance (CNS) services are evolving from the conventional independent systems to a more advanced, integrated architecture, capable of supporting future air travel. This integration of CNS (iCNS) raises issues that need to be addressed to ensure the smooth and safe transition of NextGen.

Working through the NextGen Institute, which coordinates industry involvement with the JPDO, the Raytheon Company led a multi-industry team—consisting of ARINC, Thales North America, Rockwell Collins, Inc., and Aviation Management Associates, Inc.—that recently completed a study which looked at all facets of iCNS architecture.

The purpose of the seven-month study was to evaluate the suitability of the NextGen iCNS architecture to meet the expected system demands in 2025. The team successfully developed an innovative and disciplined process to conduct this complex analysis in a relatively short period of time.
This approach has proven so valuable that the JPDO intends to use it for internal NextGen evaluations.

The study began by developing several traffic scenarios in test form that describe the interactions between an aircraft, other aircraft, the Flight Operations Center (FOC), and the Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), as the primary aircraft flies its selected trajectory. These scenarios focused on using NextGen capabilities, such as trajectory-based operations, super density airspace, and self separation, defined in the NexGen Concept of Operations envisioned for 2025. These narratives were then organized into chronological, step-by-step use cases and time sequence diagrams, mapping the participants, the actions, and the information flows directly from the NextGen Enterprise Architecture.

The study team used the architecture and planning documents from the JPDO’s web-based Joint Planning Environment (JPE). The accuracy of the scenario narratives and the use cases in the study were validated in workshop reviews where NextGen operations and architecture experts provided feedback to ensure the program was fully in-line with the NextGen concept. This approach proved valuable in providing a mechanism where the operators could interact in a meaningful fashion with the architects.

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